EQUITIES
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.44%, leading gains among the region’s major markets as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped about 3%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 0.8% higher, and the mainland Shanghai composite slipped about 0.61%. The Japanese’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.22%, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.32%.
The S&P BSE Sensex in India added 0.37%, while in Southeast Asia, the Singapore’s Straits Times index rose 0.12%.
Overnight, Wall Street advanced to record highs helped by gains for energy shares and Tesla. The S&P 500 gained 0.18% to a record closing high of 4,613.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 94.28 points to 35,913.84, at a fresh record. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.63% to about 15,595.92, also a closing record.
European stocks also hit record highs following upbeat earnings reports and a surge in banking shares. London's FTSE 100 index marked its highest close in 20 months on Monday.
OIL
Oil prices rose on Tuesday as OPEC+ undershot its expected pace of output increases last month. OPEC+ expected to stick to the 400,000-bpd figure at its Nov. 4 meeting.
U.S. crude oil stocks reports from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, due on Tuesday, and the EIA, statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, due on Wednesday.
The Brent now traded at $84.94 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $84.19 per barrel.
Overnight, the Brent ends at $84.71 a barrel, and the WTI settled at $84.05 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The dollar index was steady after declining 0.3% on Monday, was last at 93.290. The Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting concludes on Wednesday.
Two-year U.S. Treasury yields at 0.5227%, and benchmark 10-year yields traded to 1.570%.
Australia's central bank on Tuesday took a major step toward unwinding extraordinary pandemic stimulus policies by abandoning an ultra-low target for bond yields and opening the door for an earlier hike in cash rates.
Wrapping up its November policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept the cash rate at a record low of 0.1% but dropped its 0.1% target for the April 2024 government bond.
GOLD
Gold prices eased on Tuesday on firmer dollar. Spot gold was down 0.16% at $1,790.60 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures dropped 0.25% to $1,791.40.
Spot silver fell 0.30% to $24.00 per ounce. Platinum dropped 1% to $1,056.60, while palladium at 0.2% lower of $2,048.00.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday and currencies held tight ranges as nervous investors awaited several key central bank meetings that could set the tone for risk appetite heading into next year.
The immediate focus was on the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) meeting, and to follow are the Federal Reserve and Bank of England due to hold their policy decisions later in the week.
Australia's RBA took a major step toward unwinding extraordinary pandemic stimulus policies by abandoning an ultra-low target for bond yields and opening the door for an earlier hike in cash rates. Wrapping up its November policy meeting, the RBA kept the cash rate at a record low of 0.1% but dropped its 0.1% target for the April 2024 government bond.
More earnings reports are scheduled on Tuesday, including Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsui & Co., BP, Pfizer, Under Armour, Marathon Petroleum, Ralph Lauren, T-Mobile, Lyft and Activision Blizzard.
